Some stories unfold like a fairy tale: Predictable, and with clear-cut heroes and villains. Other times, it's harder to tell who is whom: The scary-looking Ogre could harbor a heart of gold while the beautiful maiden is as evil as the night is dark. And sometimes there are infinite grey areas. And the reader can't begin to know who they can trust. Even after the final page is turned.
The later is the case with April Genevieve Tucholke's exciting novel Wink Poppy Midnight. Wink is the quirky redhead who is obsessed with obscure fairy tales. Poppy is the Queen Bee and crueler than a whole horde of mean girls put together. Midnight is the shy, quiet boy caught between them. But what, at first, seems a Trope As Old As Twilight quickly morphs into a mystery that changes with every chapter. A mystery that cumulates one fateful night when the paths of the tree teens clash at the haunted house...and something unexpected and awful happens.
There is romance.
There is intrigue.
There are clues scattered throughout that are so well-hidden the reader won't recognize them for what they are until much, much later.
And finally, at the end, the reader must decide: Who is the REAL villain? Who is the REAL hero? And do these designations even exist?
Wink Poppy Midnight recalled, for me, E. Lockhart's popular novel We Were Liars. The plots and settings of the two books are completely different, but the way the authors handled the mystery-building and the Big Reveal Plot Twist were reminiscent of each other. The endings of both stories had me completely shocked. And then I was flipping back through the pages searching for clues (they were there, but so embedded in the plot and dialogue I didn't see them for what they were).
If you're looking for an incredible mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat, pick up Wink Poppy Midnight. And let us know what you thought.
--AJB
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